The recent indictment of the
thirteen Russian individuals who created “bots” The president of the United
States of America needs to acknowledge the seriousness of Russian interference
with the 2016 election in order to prevent further foreign interference in our
democratic institutions. The investigation into the 2016 election has produced
considerable evidence to prove that the Russian government has interfered with
the 2016 election, yet the President of our country denies and ignores the
substantial evidence because he has benefitted from Putin’s actions.
To distract the public away from
the Russian investigation, Trump has tried to control the focus of the FBI to
other issues not related to Russian interference to suit his political agenda.
Such as can be seen in the case of his tweets about how the FBI’s lack of
attention on the Parkland, Florida shooting was due to unnecessary focus on the
Russian investigation. From a practical perspective, it makes sense that Trump
seeks to divert attention away from his conspicuous election to the most
powerful office in the land to try and preserve a form of legitimacy of his
position. It is within his best interest to try and sweep the Russian
interference in the 2016 election under the rug, but for the sake of the
legitimacy of our democracy, this significant interference in our democratic institutions
cannot be ignored. Our President need to rise above partisan politics and
consider the seriousness of the implications of another country interfering
with our democratic process.
Unfortunately, the meddling within
the 2016 election cannot be undone, but any other future elections are now at
risk for Russian intervention. There have already been reports that there are
Russian bots trying to influence the midterm elections coming up this year. Our
democracy cannot survive if the Russians are allowed to put gas on the fire
that is our political environment. Putin has and will continue to fuel political
tension between both radical ends of the political spectrum. Before Russian
involvement, our political environment was already significantly divisive. Now
the Russian influence has taken its hold on the public, it has advocates on
both sides of the political spectrum having physical fights in the streets over
their views.
United States of America is the
most significant threat to Putin’s foreign policy plans. Ever since the
invasion of the Crimea, Putin has had a chip on his solider about he perceived
the United States interfering with the overthrowing of the Ukrainian
government. Although it is not justified, it is understandable that Putin and
the Russian government wished to seek some form of “retaliation” for our “actions”
within the Ukraine. It is deeply troubling that Putin went after the democratic
institutions we hold so dear.
It is
on the president’s shoulder’s to consider the future consequences that our
country faces with continuous intervention in our political environment. We
cannot accept that Russian intervention in our democratic elections are just a
“fact of life” within our political sphere. Our democratic elections are a
sacred and integral part of our governmental system, and must be maintained and
protected by those at the top of the political hierarchy. That means that
Donald Trump has to step up and not only publically denounce Putin for his
actions, but also take steps to ensure that this infringement on our country
doesn’t happen again. Politically, it is not within Trump’s best interest to
admit that his electoral victory was due to a foreign country’s interference,
especially one of our most vicious and bitter historical enemies. But whoever
holds the seat of the Presidency has a civic duty to put the country before
themselves. Even if that means that they must sacrifice their chance at
reelection. If Trump wishes to adequately meet the demands of his position,
then he has to stand up to Putin and hold him accountable for his actions. The validity
of our country’s institutions are at stake, and our country needs a President
who is willing to rise above partisan politics to serve the best interest of
American citizens and our democratic institutions. America’s democracy is
beautiful in that her citizens are able to have free and open discourse on
political issues, but our foreign enemies wish to exploit this to try and
weaken our country.
